Ownership Qualifications
Do You Qualify For A Habitat House? To be able to partner with Loudoun Habitat for Humanity, you must first meet basic qualifications listed below. Priority is based on the level of need, the ability to pay, and the willingness and ability to partner. Housing Choice Voucher participants are welcome to apply.
Qualifications:
- Non US citizens must have and provide Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card with photograph (INS Form I-551 or I-151).
- You have lived or worked in Loudoun County for the last 12 months.
- You are currently living in overcrowded, substandard, or unaffordable housing.
- Your annual income falls within the qualifying ranges listed on the Preliminary Questionnaire.
- You have had a steady income for the past 12 months.
- You have a reasonably good credit record; debts are being addressed by timely payments or other special arrangements. Perfect credit is not required; responsible applicants are.
- You and/or your family must agree to contribute the required sweat equity hours. You and family members (16 years old or older) must be able to work Fridays and/or Saturdays on Habitat houses that are under construction. Additional sweat equity hours may be obtained by attending classes, assisting committees, and participating in Habitat events. These "sweat equity" hours must be satisfied before moving into a Habitat house. The Family Selection Committee will be glad to assist you in the application process, as needed.
Sweat Equity
Habitat offers a hand “up”, not a handout. In addition to a minimal down payment and monthly mortgage payments, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor -- sweat equity -- into building their Habitat house and the houses of others.
Sweat equity is the unpaid labor invested by partners, their families and friends. These hours are a requirement of Loudoun Habitat for Humanity homeownership. Sweat equity hours are time spent with Habitat volunteers, attending classes, participating in Habitat events and working on building Habitat houses.
Sweat equity reduces the monetary costs of the house and increases the personal investment of each family member in their home. Sweat equity fosters partnerships with Loudoun Habitat for Humanity's volunteers and staff. Sweat equity is a key principle of Habitat and is important in building partnerships across economic, racial, and national divisions.
Loudoun Habitat for Humanity requires that sweat equity hours be completed prior to mortgage closing.
The hours required vary according to family size:Single Adult Family: minimum 250 hours
Two+ Adult Family: minimum 350 hours
House Sponsorships
Each Habitat house costs approximately $100,000 to build. House Sponsors provide this funding and are invited to work side by side with our partner families, volunteers, and staff to build houses from the ground up. Habitat houses are sold to partner families at cost through a zero-interest mortgage. Instead of a downpayment, partner families contribute "sweat equity" to the construction of Habitat houses. No profit is ever made on the sale of a Habitat house. LHFH welcomes all people, corporations, foundations, and organizations to raise their hammers, their funding, and their voices, to share in a movement to eliminate substandard housing.
We welcome any interested corporations, foundations, organizations or individuals to contact Habitat's Development Coordinator, James Bailey to discuss sponsorship opportunities.
Loudoun Habitat for Humanity is pledged to the Virginia's Fair Housing Law, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status, and handicap. Elderliness means anyone over 55 years of age.
Loudoun Habitat for Humanity (LHFH) focuses on affordable housing for low-income families in Loudoun County.